Interior Designers of Canada Becomes True National Voice for Industry

Published on April 27, 2010

Interior Designers of Canada Becomes True National Voice for Industry

Published on April 27, 2010

Interior Designers of Canada (IDC) announces a restructuring of its organization that will strengthen its role as the voice of interior design. The announcement was made at the Association’s Annual General Meeting held April 23 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The meeting was attended by more than 40 representatives from across Canada who came together to celebrate the restructuring and elect a new board of management.

The restructuring moves IDC from a seven-member organization of provincial associations to an association representing nearly 3,000 individual interior designers from coast to coast, and strengthens the association’s relationship with manufacturers and suppliers. “Members across the country are excited about what this means for the future of our profession,” says newly elected president David Hanson. “A strengthened IDC means the interior design community has a cohesive voice, which will benefit the profession in terms of advocacy and promotion, both nationally and internationally. It also means we are able to deliver programs and services more equitably to all our members.”

Susan Wiggins, who has been executive director for the Association of Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO) for nine years and has served as acting executive director of IDC for the last several years, will become executive director of IDC. She will lead a team of nine staff out of the Association’s Toronto office.

Hanson, a graduate of Ryerson University’s Interior Design program in Toronto, practises in Vancouver. He has served on numerous association boards including Interior Designers Institute of British Columbia (IDIBC), the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA). He has also received several international honours from the industry.

“I’ve been involved with various associations related to the industry over the years,” says Hanson. “I must say I am impressed with the vision that IDC has shown in proceeding with this restructuring. The restructuring taskforce and IDC transition team deserve a lot of credit for all their hard work. Without their dedication and due diligence, this positive transformation would not have been possible.”

Joining Hanson on the board executive are Donna Assaly as president-elect and Jenny Mueller Garbutt as past president. They are from Alberta and British Columbia, respectively. Representatives from each of the seven provincial associations that formed the former IDC sit on the board as directors. They are: Ada Bonini, British Columbia; Adele Bonetti, Alberta; Aandra Currie Shearer, Saskatchewan; Stephen Lamoureux, Manitoba; Clinton Hummel, Ontario; Monique Leger, New Brunswick; and Carolyn Wood, Nova Scotia.

Another five directors represent the Association’s membership. David Gibbons of Ontario and Michelle Du of Manitoba represent the professional membership. Ron Hughes from Teknion represents Industry members, Jessica Gozdzierski of New Brunswick represents Intern members, and Janice Smith of Alberta represents Education members. Two non-voting members round out the board. Trevor Kruse of Ontario is the IIDEX Liaison; and Denis Chouinard of Quebec is a Provisional Director. Susan Wiggins, IDC’s executive director, is an ex officio member of the board.